Souleymane, a young Guinean migrant navigating the perilous gig economy in Paris, is poignantly depicted by Boris Lojkine in a gripping film that exposes the harsh realities and systemic exploitation faced by many seeking refuge in France.
Souleymane is a young Guinean who arrived in Paris just a few weeks ago. Perched on his bicycle, he spends his days delivering food, weaving through pedestrians and cars with constant urgency. He must satisfy the customers and maximize his deliveries to earn enough to pay Emmanuel, the Cameroonian who rents him his Uber account, and Barry, who dictates the story Souleymane must tell to succeed in his asylum interview. He also needs to catch the bus on time to the refugee shelter in the Paris suburbs, where he finds a hot meal and a few hours of rest in a large dormitory. With breathtaking accuracy and realism, Boris Lojkine tells Souleymane’s story and, more broadly, the stories of thousands of migrants trying to find refuge in France each year. The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024, in the Un Certain Regard section, where it won the Jury Prize, before being showcased at CINEMANIA in Montreal in the same year.
Boris Lojkine presents a poignant, very realistic, and unadorned film. The framing choices create a genuine closeness with the characters. The story unfolds over a compressed timeline, depicting three days of an infernal spiral for Souleymane, culminating in his asylum interview. While critical, the film avoids caricature. The representatives of the French state—shelter staff, immigration officers, police—are portrayed as people trying to help the migrants, or at least not to overwhelm them further.
Through the figure and voice of Souleymane, brilliantly played by Abou Sangare, who deeply touches us with his simplicity and honesty, the director denounces an “uberized” society serving overconsumption, exploiting the most vulnerable in extremely precarious working conditions. Do we ever wonder why the package we receive is damaged before blaming the delivery person? In our thirst to satisfy the needs we constantly create, are we aware of the human beings around us, of their sensitivity, of their stories that led them to our doorstep? Boris Lojkine critiques the immigration conditions in France, which have spawned a genuine parallel economy. Uber account trafficking, creation of false evidence, crafting of stories likely to secure political asylum—these emerge as if the simple tale of a life filled with suffering and misery in an inhospitable country were not enough to justify seeking help, to try one’s luck elsewhere to support a family left behind.
The Story of Souleymane is presented at CINEMANIA, whose 30th edition is running on November 6-17, 2024 in Montreal, Canada.
